parastichy

[ pi-ras-ti-kee ]
/ pɪˈræs tɪ ki /

noun, plural pa·ras·ti·chies. Botany.

one of a number of seemingly secondary spirals or oblique ranks winding around the stem or axis to the right and left in a spiral arrangement of leaves, scales, etc., where the internodes are short and the members closely crowded, as in the houseleek and the pine cone.

Origin of parastichy

First recorded in 1870–75; para-1 + stich1 + -y3

Words nearby parastichy

parasol pine, parasomnia, paraspadias, parastasis, parastatal, parastichy, parasuicide, parasymbiosis, parasympathetic, parasympathetic ganglion, parasympathetic nerve

British Dictionary definitions for parastichy

parastichy
/ (pəˈræstɪkɪ) /

noun plural -chies

a hypothetical spiral line connecting the bases of a series of leaves on a stem
an arrangement of leaves so connected
Compare orthostichy

Derived forms of parastichy

parastichous, adjective

Word Origin for parastichy

C19: from para- 1 + Greek stikhia, from stikhos row, rank